At present, the adapters with which assembly lines are equipped are linked to a long sheath connecting the adapter being manipulated by the operator to the testing or filling machine. This sheath contains a bundle of fluid conduits and electrical cables. Alternatively, these bundles of fluid conduits and cables are simply held together by collars. The sheath is connected to the reservoir of the testing or filling machine by a system of fluid connectors.
The adapters comprise two main sub-assemblies: a feed module and an attachment module. The feed module is connected in the upper part to the sheath and supports the control commands. The attachment module is connected at the bottom to the feed module, for example by three or four long screws. A sub-module containing axial valves is trapped between the feed module and the attachment module. This mechanism is fixed to the spout of the reservoir or fluid circuit to be filled and may differ depending on sizes and the connection system.
The operator intervenes regularly in the attachment module during maintenance of the axial valves, a change of the attachment mechanism during a change in the spout type of the fluid circuit, or following a failure of the attachment module, or simple cleaning. These interventions are delicate, because the separation of the modules causes the separation of all of the parts making up the attachment module more than thirty parts with a risk of loss of gaskets or internal springs, whereas there is no need to completely dismantle this module according to the intervention.
Once the intervention is complete, reassembly requires putting each part in place. Although some of these parts are equipped with indicators, the operation takes time and requires vigilance and dexterity. As a precision tool, it is not recommended that the adapter be clamped in a vice, which does not facilitate the reassembly of the adapter.